Lifeboat and davit



Aus# l1, 1925'.`

A. w. LYDA v 1,549,012

LIFEBOAT AND DAVI T A. hay@ @Jg//wm Q-VM Aug. l1, 1925.

A. W. LYDA LIFEBOAT- AND DAVIT Y Filed July l2. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. ll, 1925. 1,549,012

A. W. LYDA LIFEBOAT AND DAVIT Filed July l2, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet, 3 f-Gs 65 SLMAT 65 49 Il r,5/ M2M Vy@ *l il *zu W L a m i;

I "Hh 64: INM I A @Fh 62 0;! fsf-(Ig J0 2 .fsw i; g f JV J I Patented Aug'. l1, 1%25.

identi? ARTHUR W'. LYDA, OF NORTH CANTDN, 011110, ASSGNQR. T0 THE AMERICAN SAFETY NAVIGATEON CO'MBANY, 0F CANTON, 0R10, A COROPJATON 0F OHIO.

LIFEBOAT AND DAVIT.

Application filed July 12, 1922. Serial No. 574,430.

.To all #1o/10m t may conce/"n:

Be it known that l, n'rirun lil. Lrnii, a citizen oi the lilnited States, residing at North Canton, in the county ot Stark and State ot Ohio, have invented a new and useliul Lifeboat and Davit, or which the t'ollowing is a. specilication.

lThis invention relates to lite boats and davits ,tor carrying and raising and lowering the same.

rllhc objects ot the invention are to provide davits pivoted at their lower ends to the deck and arranged to swing outward upon their pivots to lower the lite boat, saddles beingl carried by the davits tor supporting the lite boats in the inoperative position, the lite boat and davits being held in this position by means oi' a windlass which controls the cables upon which the lite boats are raised and lowered; means being provided for automatically releasing he life boat troni the cables as the boat reaches the surface ot the water; means being also provided for autoiniitically releasing the lite boat from the davits in the event the water reaches the level of the life boat bei'ore the same has been lowered; means also being provided Jfor controlling the lowering of the liie boat from the lite boat itself as the same is being lowered and Jtor applying a brake to the driving mechanism which controls the lowering ot' the boat to stop the boat at any level.

The above and other objects may be attained by constructing the mechanism as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichl Figure 1 is a perspective view oil? a lii'e boat provided with davits and raising and lowering mechanism embodying the invention, showing the same from the deck side ot' the mechanism;

Fig. 2, a. perspective view ot the mechanism showing the liife boat in the partly lowered position;

Fig. 3, a perspective view ot' the mechanisin from one end oif the boat;

Fig. 11, transverse sectional view through the boat showing the saddle upon the davit tor supporting the boat in raised position, taken upon the line 4 4-, Fig. 1;

Fig. 5, a plan view oit the driving and controlling mechanism 5 Fig. 6, an elevation. of the automatic release for the controlling mechanism;

Fig. 7, a longitudinal sectional view through the automatically' releasable hook; Fig. 8, a detail view oi the iinger upon the davit for holding the trunnion oit the boat in the raised position upon the davit; Fig. 9, a section on the line 9-9, Fig. 5; and

Fig. F 5.

Similar numerals oi reference indicate corresponding` parts throughout the several figures oi' the drawings.

A portion of the side ot a ship is shown at 1, and a fragmentary portion of the deck at 2. A spaced pair ot standards 3 are mounted upon the decl; at the proper distancel apart to accommodate the life boat indicated generally at 1. Each of the standards 3 comprises a base portion 5 'secured to the decl: near the side ot the ship, as best shown in Fig. 3, a pair ot spaced uprights 6 being fined thereon.

A rotatable shaft 7 is journaled through 10, a section on the line 10,

the lower portion of each standard and the davits 8 are journaled upon said shaft at their lower ends as by the 'forked bearing portion 9, each davit being arranged to be received between the uprights 6 when in the raised position.

A drum or spool 10 is lined upon the shaft between each pair of uprights 6, a cable 11 being iiXed at one end to each drum, the free end thereof extending upward over a pulley 12 carried at the upper end of the standard 3 and over a pulley 13 upon the free end of the davit 8, having connected to its tree extremity the automatically rcleasable hool; 14 illustrated in detail in Fig.

rfhis hook comprises a pair of spaced plates 15 connected at their upper ends by the boss 16 which is internally threaded as at 1'? to receive the threaded shank 18 ot the eye 19 by means of which the hook is connected to the cable. The curved hook member 2O is pivoted as at 2.1 to the lower end portions oi' the plates 15 between the same and provided with the squared upper extremity normally engaged by the shoulder 28 upon the releasing lever 24, which is provided with the depending weighted arm 25.

The plunger 26 is slidably mounted through the bearing members E27 connected to the plates 15 and provided with the lli headed shanl-I 28 extending through the slot 29 in the lever 2l. The lower end oi the plunger Q6 is provided with a loot 30 `which normally projects beneath the link or eye 3l fixed upon the trunnion ot the boat.

lt will thus be seen that when the i'eigjght of the boat is suspended upon the hook member 520, the linlr 51 engaging the ioot 30 will hold the plunger 2G and with it the lever 2dr dovra, holding' the shoulder 9,3 el' the lever in engagement `with the eqnared extremity or the hooi: 20.

As soon as the doivnivard pull upon the hook member 20' is released, it will be seen that the Weight 25 will swing inward, raising the lever 9A- and allowing' the hook member 2O to drop, releasingr the eye or link 3l therefrom. It is pointed out that the plates l5 extend outward beyond the norn' l. tion of the Weight 25, thus prevenrnpj accidental operation of the hook to release the same.

The upper end portion of each of the darits 8 is provided with a curved slotted finger 3S, located just beneath the pulley ri-S, a pair ot curved lingers 3l being' located beneath and spaced from 'the fin-frei' il. ball 85 is fixed upon the cable at the proper point above the releasable hook and is arranged to be normally seated between the linger 33 and the lingers 3% when the boat is in the raised position, as best shown in Fig. 3, the cable extending' through the slot in the linger 33 and between the fingers 34.

A rest plate 36 is fixed intermediate the extremities ot each davit to receive the adjacent trunnion 32 of the boat when in the raised position, the rear end portion et this rest plate being received in the shouldered portion 37 of the head 38 provided tie upper end of each standard 3.

A holding linger 89 is pivoted as at e() to the outer end portion of each rest plate 3G, a plunger 41 being pivoted as at 4t2 to each linger beneath the pivotal point thereof and extending through a groove or channel lf3 in the rest plate 36, the rear end portion thereof being' arranged to engage the shoulder in the head ol" the :5-:t .ldnrd when the boat is raised as shown the plunger being' thus pushed raising; the linger 39 as shown in said A pair of curved or angular arnis fixed to the shalt 7 and extend outward, a rod 415 being rigidly connected to said arms and having mounted thereon the saddles lo which may be adjusted vertically as desired as by a turnbuclle i7. These saddles as shown in Figs. l and At, support the boat when in the raised position.

A clutch member i8 is slidably mounted upon the shaft 7 and arranged to be moved into engagement with the clutch member 49 Which is rotatably mounted upon the shaft and iournaled in the bearing' 50, aA

worm Wheel 5l being lixedly conn eted to the clutch member 4,9 and engaging' the worm 52 mounted upon a shalt 53, which carries the gear 54C meshing with the pinion 55 upon the shaft of the motor rEhe clutch member #i8 is arranged to be slidabiy moved upon the shaft 7 as by means oit' the lever 57 which is pivoted as at 5d upon a stationary portion ol the device and engaged by 'he angular operating' handle 5f). The speed ot the rotation ol the shai't 7 may be regulated by means of the gearing' 6() and the pallet or tan Gl.

n brake drum 62 is provided upon the shaft 7, a brake band being located around the same, one end being' connected to the lever to which is connected the cable G5, extending' through an aperture or slot .in the housing 6G, the tree end oit the cable being located in the boat. It desired, a windiass provided with any suitable form ot brake mechanism, may be provided in the boat to receive the cable G5. By this ronstruction, it will be seen that the brake may be applied to the shait 7 by a person ivi thin the boat, thus making' it possible to control the lowering of the boat from. the boarl itsclli.

A lug' 67 is fixed upon the inner sine ot the boat and arranged to be received in the bifurcated portion 68 or' the br clet GS). a locking); pin 70 being slidably mounted through said bifureated portion and arranged to engage the lug 67 as best shown in Fig. 5, when the boat is in the raised position, to prevent the same from. being' removed.

A finger 71 is provided upon the locking' pin and extends through the slot 72 in the bracket 69. A float 73 is mounted upon the vertical rod 74 fixed upon the deelt and is provided with the arm 7 5 having the hooi-z extremity 7G which normally engages the pin 7l, preventing accidental Withdrawal ot the locking' pin. The handle 59, when in the normal position, is engaged with the linger 7l as shown in ltigrs. 5 and (3.

The operation ol. the device may be described as follows; the several parts being in the normal position, as shoivn in Figs. 'i l, 4l, 5, ('3 and 7, when it is desired to lower tne iiile boat, the boat manned by the crew iu the usual manner and the passengers are doaded therein, after which the handle 59 is pushed to the ie't't, that is, toward the linger 71, releasing the linger from the hooi-r 76 and moving the same into the notch 77 in the slot 72, withdrawing the lockingl pin '70 Yl'rom engagement With the lug' 67 ol the boat, releasing' the boat from engagement with the bracket G9.

This movement ot the handle 5f) will als throw the lever 57 to dise-ngage the clutch member L8 from the clutch member i-9 and the Weight of the boat hanging upon the davits will swing the same immediately into the position shown in Fig. 2, the cables 11 unwinding freely from the drums 10. rlhe cable 65 will be operated by one of the crew in the boat 5 to regulate the speed of the descent of the boat, the brake being applied to the shaft 7 whenever it is desired to slow up the speed of the boat or to stop the same entirely in its descent.

lt will be seen that the chains 7S upon the heads 33 of the standards limit the outward movement of the davits 8, as best shown in Fig. 2. 1t will also be understood that as the davits swing outward into this position, the weight of the boat being entirely suspended upon the rests 36 of the davits by means of `the trunnions 32, will automatically throw the holding lingers outward into the position shown in Fig. 2, releasing the boat from engagement with. these rests and fingers.

.as the boatreaches the surface of the water, the pull upon the cables 11 will be slackened, releasing the pull upon the releasable hook, allowing the link or eye 31 to rise sufliciently with relation to the hook member 2O to permit the weight 25 to swing inward, releasing the lever 24 from engagement with the hook member, allowing the same to drop upon its pivotal point 21 and permitting the boat to swing clear of the hook when it will be operated by the crew in the usual manner.

In raising the boat, after the same has been lowered, the davits and cables will be located in the lowered position and the boat brought into place beneath the same and attached to the hooks upon the cables. The handle 59 will then be thrown into the position shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6, throwing the clutch member 48 into engagement with the clutch 49 and the motor 56 will be started, winding the cables 11 upon the reels 10 and rais-ing the boat until the balls 35 engage the fingers 33 and 34 upon the upper ends of the davits, when the davits will be pulled by the cables into the initial position, best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, seating the boat upon the saddles 4G and seating the trunnions 32 upon the rest members 36, the fingers 39 being automatically raised into the position shown in Fig. 3 into engagement with said trunnions as above described.

The linger 71 will then be operated by hand to withdraw the locking pin 70, permitting the lug 67 upon the boat to be entered into the bifurcated portion 68 of the bracket 69, after which the locking pin will be pushed back to the position shown in Fig. 5, the linger 71 engaging the hook 76, holding the locking pin in the locked position.

In the event the ship is sinking rapidly and prevents any of the life boats from being maimed, those particular life boats will be automatically released from the davits and allowed to float away from the ship as the same sinks. As the water reaches the iioat 73, the same will be raised with the water, sliding upward upon the rod 74, raising the arm 75 carried thereon, the inclined cam portion 81 of said arm forcing the linger 71 outward in the slot 72, withdrawing the locking pin 7 O from engagement with the lug 67 upon the boat and the releasable hooks which connect the boat to the cables will be automatically opened as above described, as the water level raises the boat from the rests 36 upon the davits, thus allowing the boat to iioat free of the davits.

Persons who have been thrown into the water by the sinking of the vessel, may thus swim to any of the empty life boats which are thus automatically freed from the ship, this in itself providing a great saving of life.

The importance of the automatic control comprising the gearing 6() and fan 61 should not be overlooked, as practical experience has shown that without such a controlling mechanism, the boat would drop suddenly the moment it was released, making it impossible to lower and launch the same with out the greatest danger to the occupants. This automatic regulator controls the lowering of the boat, allowing the same to move slowly downward to the surface of the water, while the brake upon the shaft operated from within the life boat itself, permits perfect control of the life boat by the occupants thereof, allowing the same to be stopped at any height or lowered at any desired speed by regulating the tension upon the brake.

I claim 1. A life boat and davits for a ship including standards mounted upon the ships deck, a sha-ft journaled at its ends in the lower portions yof said standards, a davit loosely mounted upon each end portion of the shaft, a reel fixed upon each end portion of the shaft, a pulley upon the upper end of each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each davit, a cable upon each reel extending over the pulleys of the adjacent standard and davit, a life boat suspended upon said cables, means for normally holding the shaft against rotation to retain the boat in the raised position and means for releasing the shaft to permit the cables to unwind from the reels and the davits to swing outward to lower the boat.

2. il. life boat and davits for a ship including standards mounted upon the ships deck, a shaft journaled at its ends in the lower portions of said standards, a davit loosely mounted upon each end port-ion of the shaft. a. reel fixed .upon each end portion of the shaft, a pulley upon the upper end of each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each davit, a cable upon each reel extending over the pulleys of the adjacent standard and davit, a lifeboat suspended upon said cables, means for normally holding the shaft against rotation to retain the boat in the raised position and means for releasing the sha-lt to permit the cables to unwind from the reels and the davits to swing outward to lower the boat, and means for automatically releasing the life boat from the cables as the life boat reaches the surface of the water.

3. A life boat and davits for a ship including standards mounted upon the ships deck, a shaft journaled at its ends in the lower portions of said standards, a davit loosely mounted upon each end portion of the shaft, a reel lixed upon each end portion of the shaft, a pulley upon the upper end oi" each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each davit, a cable upon each reel extending over the pulleys of the adjacent standard and davit, a life boat suspended upon said cables, means for normally holding` the shaft against rotation to retain the boat in the raised position and means for releasing,` the shaft to permit the cables to unwind from the reels and the davits to swing outward to lower the boat, and automatically releasable hooks connecting,` the cables to the life boat and arranged to automatically release the life boat as the same reaches the surface of the water.

4. A life boat and davits for a ship including standards mounted upon the ships deck, davits pivotally mounted at their lower ends in the standards, a rest upon each davit, reels in the Standards, a pulley upon the upper end of each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each davit, a cable upon each reel extending over the adjacent pulleys, a life boat suspended upon said cables, trunnions upon the life boat arranged to be seated upon said rests and pivoted holding fingers upon the rests arranged to automatically engage the trunnions when the boat and davits are in the raised position.

5. A life boat and davits for a ship including standards mounted upon the ships deck, a davit pivoted at its lower end in each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each standard, a pulley upon the upper end of each davit, reels upon the standards, a cable upon each reel extending over the adjacent pulleys, a life boat suspended upon the cables, a locking lug upon the inner side of the life boat, and a slidable locking' pin upon the ship normally engaging said lug, a motor for rotating said reels, a clutch between the motor and reels and an operating lever for simultaneously operating the clutch and uf'ithdrawing the slidable loci@ ing pin.

In testimony that I claim the above, l have hereunto subscribed my name.

' ARTHUR WV. LYDA. 

